


Some dance to forget

by fiercynn



Category: Young Justice
Genre: Female Character of Color, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-12-25
Updated: 2006-12-25
Packaged: 2017-10-10 16:08:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/101602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiercynn/pseuds/fiercynn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Young Justice is kind of like Hotel California; you can quit, but you're never really gone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Some dance to forget

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cmshaw](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cmshaw/gifts).



> Written for the 2006 Jingle Bells Batman Smells gift fic exchange.

It's not that Cissie dislikes the attention. It's just that sometimes, her friends are a bit over-the-top about her. Most of them probably (no, definitely) don't even realize – definitely Bart and Kon, and Cassie to a certain extent too.

She finds herself being surprised by how often she still sees them, and how often they're still around in her life. That's the thing – Young Justice is kind of like Hotel California (except less mysterious and sinister and analogous to drug-addiction); you can quit, but you're never really gone.

Cissie always gave it less importance than the others had, even before. Heroing – it really shouldn't take on the mythic proportions that Cassie seemed to assign to it, because really it's just another way to help people. Cissie doesn't think she'll ever lose that drive to make some kind of difference because that's the kind of person she is, but she's allowed to change her mind about the method, isn't she? And it's not a waste of her talents if she puts them to other useful tasks.

So there's no guilt, because even the good parts of it (the parts separated from Bonnie and from her childhood) were never her whole life, they were extra, and extra can always be removed when it gets to be too much. It's not as if everyone in the world was expected to do it. She had her run, and it was good, and maybe she made a difference, which is something she'd look back on with happiness.

Really, the strongest feelings are closer to nostalgia than anything else. Another truth about YJ: it's kind of like middle school because it's frustrating when you're there, but a kind of fun thing to look back on later, custom-made for reminiscence. Cissie doesn't mind reminiscing, but it's as if her friends won't let her set it in the past, and she thinks that she really needs it there.

**

"Class, please give a warm welcome to Ms. Fite, who will be the substitute teacher for Ms. Jenkins today," says the principal to the English class.

Cissie's heart plunges into her stomach, her immediate reaction of terror. Something must have happened to bring one of them all the way here, something horrible.

But then Anita grins at her, a sideways smirk that Cissie would not have realized was aimed at her if she didn't know Anita. And wow, Cissie needs to amend her perspective – this was Young Justice, after all, and her friends would take any chance to infiltrate her school even just for the fun of it. Robin has probably done it without her even realizing, hacking the computer system or something to keep an eye on her. It's utterly annoying.

As Anita begins asking for students to summarize the chapter of _Catcher in the Rye_ that they'd had to read, Cissie thinks dryly that it's a good thing Elias is an all-girls' school, because boys falling for the hot substitute teacher would be just too clichéd and true. As it is, some of the girls are already on their way to a crush, or at the very least heroine-worship. Ironic, because they don't know Anita's other sides at all.

Cissie's surprised out of her thoughts when Anita announces a pop quiz. The girls groan, some of their admiration waning, and Anita narrows her eyes in another, secret grin. Cissie can almost see the shift from cool new teacher to forceful disciplinarian – Anita's clearly having fun with her role, and Cissie scowls at her again.

The quiz has just one question, but unlike the rest of the class who are now scribbling Holden's world-weariness (or at least, so Cissie hopes), Cissie's sheet merely says _Behind the gym, 3:00._

Cissie can't decide if sounds more like a stereotypical threat of a fight, or a promise of a surreptitious make-out session. _What if I don't want to?_ she writes, then crosses it out. _Does your dad know you're here?_ is discarded as well, along with _I thought Robin was bad enough – now that you all are making personal appearances, can I disable the security cameras he's got set up here?_

Finally, she settles for _Can I use you as a college reference, then?_, which may not get her point across, but at least doesn't sound so childish. Someone has to be (relatively) serious around here, and it might as well be her.

**

"So, what the hell?" says Cissie by way of greeting. "Behind the gym" is really just the edge of the woods, which does make a perfect meeting place, but she can't help sounding a little annoyed.

"Nice job on the quiz," says Anita smoothly, like playing the piano all over again, her tiny smirk the only thing that makes it sound even remotely insincere. "You should be happy, I'd give you a perfect score if I were actually going to return them."

"Well, that's good to know," Cissie says. "What's next, though? Snapper getting a permanent job here or something? I'd warn him if I were you; some of the girls would be all over him, and I don't think he wants that kind of attention."

"Hey, it's not that bad, and I promise I'll never do it again," Anita replies.

"I mean, do you realize how annoying it is?" Cissie continues.

Anita gives her a slightly exasperated glance. "Are you joking, mon? I have every idea how annoying it is – I do have to live with my dad. Did you forget?"

Well…yes, Cissie had forgotten. "Shouldn't that make you more sympathetic to me, then?"

"Nah, if I have to deal with it, then so should you," Anita says easily. "Besides, it is your own fault."

"What? How? I'm telling you, I'm done with all of this, completely, completely done!"

"No, you're not." Anita says it as if she knows, as if it's certain, and she's putting on that authoritarian skin again. "You wanted to stay friends with all of us? You know us well enough, you should be able to deal with our quirkiness. When you were still Arrowette, you would have done it too."

Cissie wants to say something about how Anita wasn't one of those friends, but she's sensible enough to realize that it's not even true, any more.

"Admit it, you like it," Anita continues, and before Cissie can protest, she holds up a hand. "Even I can see. You're always saying that your mom was too focused on your career and your superhero role than on what you cared about. Well, here we are, a bunch of people that are your _friends_ and want to care about you the way your mother might now. Your arguments and annoyance might be part of the game, but it's not how you really feel."

And really, Cissie can't quite argue with that. Maybe she needs to forget about reminiscing – the past doesn't need to be on a pedestal when she's still got the good parts right here.

"Is that why you came instead of one of the others?" she says after a moment, but without candor. "To properly tell me the moral of the story, or something?"

"Oh no, I just wanted to see what it's like going to one of these all-girls' schools. I don't know how you can stand it, mon."

This time, Cissie just tosses a grin back at her. "And was that you're whole reason for coming, too? Because I hate to break it to you, but as a teacher, you need a lot of work."

"Actually, there is something else," Anita says as if she'd almost forgotten about her real task. "A surprise party for Bart, actually."

Cissie remembers Bart's balloons and cake and party hats when he thought Cissie was coming back to the team, and she grins even wider. "That is one of the best ideas _ever_."

"Well, you know Robin – Batman must be the World's Greatest Idea-Thinker too, or something. Anyway, we were thinking we could have it at your mom's house, so that he won't guess. Everywhere else would be too obvious, knowing Bart."

"I'd have to talk to Mom, but I think it'd be fine – she'd probably be thrilled," Cissie says, rolling her eyes.

"Good," says Anita simply. She gives another quick flash of a smile, and says, "I'll see you, then."

Yeah, thinks Cissie. She probably will.


End file.
